Bobbi's job

 Just over five years ago I posted about how Bobbi had gotten her first "real" job (as in, not just a temporary summer job.) As we had hoped, it was a great fit for her. Last month marked her five-year anniversary with Kwik Trip as a Food Product Demonstrator (FPD)! She has gotten to know many of the "regulars" and they will come in looking for her. She's seen co-workers come and go, some because they were just looking for temporary work, and some because they've been moved to other positions or other stores within the company. She takes pride in being someone who sticks it out even on the tough days (and she's had days she's told us she's ready to call it quits, and the *only* thing keeping her from following through is that she doesn't want to be the one who just leaves!) Besides, it's nice getting a regular paycheck. 😉

For over a year she's been working with another agency that works with people with disabilities in job placement, not because she wants to leave Kwik Trip, but because she's been hoping to work closer to 30 hours a week instead of just the 15-20 that she was currently getting. That's been slow going. She is very uncomfortable with anything having to do with numbers, so anything that involves cashiering is out. Yikes! That *greatly* reduces her options. She can't carry things, so stocking shelves isn't an option. Her cognitive limitations make something like answering phones and directing calls beyond her. So, although she's a very personable young woman, with a definitely range of skills, they just don't overlap in areas that are easily marketable. Greeting guests and passing out samples is a great fit for her.

So it was pretty hard hitting when she learned a few weeks ago that Kwik Trip is dropping, company-wide, their food product sampling program. They intend to keep all of the current product demonstrators on in other positions, but mainly in jobs that Bobbi can't do! We're so grateful that her store manager is motivated to keep someone with Bobbi's company loyalty in the company. So, while she's not going to keep 15-20 hours, she DOES still get to work three 3-hour shifts a week putting price stickers onto muffins and crisp rice bars and doing some light cleaning of the surfaces that she is able to reach.

Here's Bobbi wiping the counters by the coffee machines.

However, the week after she learned about her FPD position going away, she actually had an interview for a similar position with Sam's Club! Her FIRST interview after over a year long process of looking! 

And she bombed it. Oof. That was a pretty big downer to her. She also has not learned to see the hand of God at work in the coincidences of timing the same way Matt and I have had over the years., which made the blow even harder to take.

What a joy to, a few weeks later, see the same position open again; she applied, and got another interview! She related afterward that the (same) interviewer was surprised to see her trying again, and told her that she admired her persistence, and was going to give her one shift a week and see how it goes, with the potential of picking up another shift if it works out well for everyone!

So, before her FPD job at Kwik Trip ended and she was down to 9 hours a week, she had officially gotten a second job. While she has not started there yet, she has been hired! What beautiful provision for her. 

And, unrelatedly, she got her ears pierced a second time.